Writing sub plans is the task I dread most as a teacher. It is time-consuming and often the best-laid plans go awry. Substitutes misinterpret directions or students use that excuse to claim that they were led astray from a meaningful task. I have found a few digital applications that have changed the nature of the […]
Whitney Kaulbach
I teach High school and middle school students World History, AP World History, Reading Instruction, and Literacy Specialist.
Posted inHigh School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies
Presenting Missing Histories
How do educators balance teaching in an area of expertise while knowing that what they know might not be enough?  Media scrutiny and traditional practice of being the “sage on stage” for determining necessary content coverage for standardized tests thwarts the better practice of modeling inquiry and discovery. Teachers worried about the uniformity of content focus more […]
Posted inEducational Apps, Instructional Strategies, Social Studies
Transformative Moments in Student Centered Learning
There is no one I know who wants to be made aware of faults on a daily basis. Intentions to provide students with good guidance often become part of a litany of continuous criticism for students moving through several classes each day. The growing list of changes, edits and scores less than satisfactory seldom diminish and frequently are left untouched. My […]
Posted inHigh School, Opinion
Teaching is Such a Racket
As an educator in a close knit community, I am an easy target for disgruntled community members. I would love to believe that people flock to me the way they might flock to an adored film or rock star that first week of school. Occasionally parents will stop me to tell me about the success […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum, Middle School, Technology
The Classroom as a Transformative Space
Every educator I know spends time setting up their classroom designing the use of space to be aesthetically inviting, with little to no assistance, little to no training. That first connection with students is so important, the room they walk into tells them if they are safe, if they can be inquisitive or if they must […]
Posted inHigh School, Instruction & Curriculum, Instructional Strategies, Middle School, Technology
Blending Digital Time: Mobile Learning and Self Reliance
The shift in education towards mobile learning and self reliance has educators and parents grappling over the social dynamic shift in relationships between student and adult. Access to technology has transformed traditional responsibilities, and redefined cultural values which is alarming for some and liberating for others.  The media tends towards a worrisome focus on the health of those with access […]
Posted inConfessions of a Teacher, Opinion, Social Studies, The Traveling Teacher
Recharging Your Teaching Battery During Summer Vacation
I’m standing on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, far away from wifi and cell service and anything familiar at the start of my summer vacation. I’m fascinated with the lighting strikes and thunderstorm moving rapidly along the opposite rim. Amateur photographers snap images in 20-second intervals, trying to capture an unforgettable moment but […]
Posted inFeatured, Instruction & Curriculum
Summer Reading Challenge, Read More Than Books
Change that paradigm!  Reading should not be books alone. Summer reading time is my true professional development, experimenting with genres and digital literacy tools set aside during the busier terms of the year. I organize my reading hours similar to the organization of my running workouts. Workouts are separated into distance, easy, tempo, interval, and races while reading is […]